CMO50 2017 entrant looks forward to reviving iconic Aussie brand
Former Bulla executive, Nick Hickford, has been appointed marketing and innovation director for Don Smallgoods (George Weston Foods).
Stepping into the new position in November, Hickford has been tasked with bringing the Australian iconic brand back into the forefront of consumers’ minds, as well as implementing a strong innovation agenda.
Hickford, who featured on the CMO50 2017 list, was Bulla Dairy Food’s former general manager of marketing and innovation for more than three years.
“I am passionate about innovation, advertising and, most of all, great brand strategy. I am thrilled at being given the opportunity to leverage my career experience to reignite the brand at Don; an iconic Australian brand, which, although sitting in number one spot for unaided awareness, has lost some attention in recent years. I’m looking forward to working closely with the team to put new life into the brand,” Hickford said.
Hickford and his team turned Bulla into the number one most recognised dairy brand in Australia, much of it due to the advertising campaign, ‘Unfakeable’ delivered as part of the new master brand strategy. In his CMO50 2017 submission, Hickford said the purpose of ‘Unfakeable’ campaign was to re-engage consumers with the Bulla brand and revive flagging sales and market shares. In its first year, the campaign increased unaided brand awareness by 50 per cent at a national level.
Prior to Bulla, he was the CEO of Wilson Everard Advertising, and also ran The Bridge Consulting Group for five years, working on brands including Woolmark, National Australia Bank, Dairy Australia, Murray Goulburn Dairy, Bulla Dairy Foods, SPC Fruit, and Europcar.
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